MARKET BASKET. FOODSTUFF.

Capturing Soul Food

May 24, 2000|By Renee Enna.

When photographer Eric Futran approached the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs with his photo series of French chefs, they counter-offered with a soul food exhibit.

"The ball became available, and I picked it up and ran with it," said Futran, who spent six months visiting the city's soul food sources, including restaurants, such as Army & Lou's and Gladys' Luncheonette, church suppers, chefs, street vendors and catfish stores. The result is "Soul Food: A Photographic Exhibition with Recipes," a collection of 40 black-and-white pictures on display weekdays from June 5 to 29 at Daley Civic Center, 50 W. Washington St. (A few recipes are on display too.)

The show is being offered in conjunction with a national academic conference, "Grits, Greens and Everything in Between: The Foods of the African Diaspora and American Transformations," to be presented by the Culinary Historians of Chicago and the Chicago Historical Society June 24 and 25.

Futran, a Chicagoan, makes his living photographing the restaurant industry. Among his credits is the "Great Chefs" series of cookbooks. With this exhibit, he said, he tried to capture the story beyond the food on the plate.

"There's a reason it's called soul food, and it comes from a very deep, grounded sense of community," Futran said. "This food very much comes from the heart. I tried to show that in the pictures."